Returning
by Lady Artemist
Summary: A person contemplates a new teammate, not realizing his significance. Oneshot


Disclaimer: Whistle! and its characters do not belong to me but rather Daisuke Higuchi.

This oneshot had no beta.

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He showed up out of nowhere. We had never seen him around at school so how could he join the football team? Regardless, he sat down on the bench and bent over to get something out of his sports bag. He looked older than us first years, maybe a second year. While rustling around in his bag I took notice of his appearance. Average height, a bit pale, dark hair running every which way. My mind was burning with curiosity. Who was he?

He finally sat up, holding something black in his hand. I looked closer; it looked like a knee brace. He pulled up his left pant leg and what I saw made me shudder. Large scars were drawn across his knee. Several of them stood out from his slightly pale skin. What had happened to get those sorts of scars? He started to put his brace on and I couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Um, excuse me but what happened," I asked knowing how rude I sounded. I didn't even know the guy!

"Oh, hello!" he smiled at me. His brows furrowed in confusion until he saw my line of sight. "Oh this, well I had a bit of an accident during a game. My fault really," he chuckled with good humor. "The scars are more from the operation then the actual incident," he replied smiling.

"Oh, OH! I'm so sorry, I'm so stupid. You must think me to be terribly rude! I'm Kojima Akira," I yelped. I had just questioned a stranger about their past. Yes, I really was stupid. Yet he still smiled good naturedly. He seemed like a good guy, one you couldn't really dislike.

"I'm Kazamatsuri Sho, nice to meet you. I just moved here from Germany." he stated, smile still intact.

Germany, that was really far away. I wondered what he was doing there. Had he lived there for long? Why did he move here? Despite these questions, I knew I couldn't ask. I had no place. But, his name sounded so familiar. Why couldn't I place where I heard it from?

Our coach called us over to start practice. The team was much smaller than usual. Our better players who played in the U-17 were at a game so we would be practicing the fundamentals. I never really liked doing this. I wanted to get into more difficult plays, more challenging passes. I looked to my right and saw Kazamatsuri-san beam. How could anyone be excited about doing the basics?

"Before we start, I see we have someone new among us. Please introduce yourself and hand in your paperwork," stated the coach.

"My name is Kazamatsuri Sho and I am second year. I was supposed to start in two days but I was able to get here sooner. Please take care of me!" replied Kazamatsuri-san.

I looked over at coach and he had a strange look on his face. It was a mix between recognition, respect and a slight awe if I wasn't mistaken. Why would coach be in awe of this new player? The mystery of Kazamatsuri Sho just kept growing.

We went out into the field and started our warm ups. I kept subtly glancing at Kazamatsuri-san from the corner of my eyes, unable to hold in my curiosity. The practice progressed as usual. I tried to keep my boredom in check but juggling the ball can only be interesting for so long. Plus, I hated practicing with my left foot, it was such a pain.

I looked up when I heard a yell. A stray ball was heading towards my corner of the field. Fuku-san really did need all the practice he could get with controlling his ball direction. What good was power if you completely missed the goal. My musings were interrupted by what happened as a result of the stray ball.

Kazamatsuri-san had heard the yell as well as I did. He jumped in the air, shifting his body and general position, and kicked at the ball. The guy just did a bicycle kick, shifting mid-air as if it was an everyday thing. As if random footballs flew in his direction every day. To have such awareness, to have such field vision to pull that off is amazing. Even more amazing, the ball went into the goal, the keeper not even making an attempt but rather standing in slack disbelief.

I looked at Kazamatsuri-san with a wordless expression. He noticed the sudden attention on him and blushed. Smiling a bit, he scratched the back of his head in what could be a nervous gesture and apologized for interrupting the practice at the goal. The guy apologized for his amazing stunt, brushing it off as it was nothing. I stood there in disbelief.

After practice finished, we went to the benches for our waters and bags. I walked beside Kazamatsuri-san in silent contemplation. My thoughts were interrupted by a sudden question.

"Is this the entire team?" Kazamatsuri asked with a slight frown, an expression that I found strange on his usually smiling face.

"No, some of our members on the U-17 team and had a game today. Some of the senior members not on the U-17 team were allowed to go cheer them on," I puffed up proudly.

He smiled, a rather happy yet wistful smile seeming to get lost in memories.

"I see, they must be very good then," he replied softly.

"Yes, especially Mizuno-san. He's an incredible player," I gushed. Yes, I admit that I gushed but you would too if you ever saw him play. He was like a football god.

"Sato-san and Fuwa-san are incredible as well," I supplied.

"I've heard they're amazing," he replied.

"Did you hear about them in Germany," I asked. I knew they were good but were they so good that foreigners talked about them too?

"No, I heard about them when I was here. I only lived in Germany for 3 years for rehab." He said with a thoughtful look towards his knee.

To go to Germany for rehab, was he that good? How did he injure himself and why did this seem as if I had heard it before because that was impossible, right?

We parted ways and I walked home through the dark streets, lamps lighting my way. I kept thinking back to the feeling of familiarity I had when I heard his name. Heck, even the situation sounded familiar.

"I'm home!" I yelled into the lit house. It was nice to be home, especially when I was starving.

"Welcome back!" yelled my older sister and mom. Dad was probably still at work.

"How was practice?" asked my sister. She was obsessed with the game but so was I, where do you think I got it from?

"It was good, mostly first years because of the game. We practiced the basics," I replied with a frown. "But it was weird. We got a new player I've never seen before. He's from Germany," I looked at my sister strangely as she perked up. She started bouncing in her seat. I will never understand women.

"Really?!" she yelled. "What's his name???" she practically screamed in my face.

"Um, "I stuttered hesitantly, "Kazamatsuri Sho."

"YES!" she literally screamed. I was completely confused.

"Um, why are you so excited?" I asked hesitantly.

"Are you kidding?!" she yelled. "Don't you know who he is?! I only told you about him a thousand times! Heck you even saw him play in the game that he was injured in!" she yelled. She seemed to like to yell a lot tonight.

"I don't really remember," I replied a bit embarrassed. "Who is he?"

"He's the reason for the success of the Josui's and the Junior Senbatsu team! He was number 9 at Josui and 19 at Senbatsu after Tenjo left for Germany. They hung out from what I heard while he was there. He's like the heart of the team. When everyone thought things were over he would pull out a play and turn things around. Honestly, Mizuno-san and everyone are his best friends. We were all devastated when he got injured. Mizuno-san was crushed and blamed himself until Sho yelled at him for being stupid. I've never seen Sho yell before."

I couldn't believe it. That's where I heard the name before. I had even seen him play. I saw him get injured. Sitting there, I stared into space with what my sister informed me was a stupid expression. When I saw that game 3 years ago, I had been inspired. Such a small player had made such a difference in such a big game. He was amazing, not for technique which was good but not Mizuno-san's level, but for his heart and determination. I had vowed to be like him. That's how my sister got me to practice the basics constantly. That's how I improved, even if I was bored at doing the same thing over and over. My sister would tell me stories about how the boy I had seen would practice anything. He just loved the game and would do anything to get better.

"Kazamatsuri Sho," I whispered into the night, turning over in my futon and thinking back to the source of my inspiration.

The next day, I saw Kazamatsuri-san when I walked through the halls of school. He was wearing the uniform with the second year insignia. I couldn't help but stare. I wanted to get better, I wanted to go outside right then and there and play football. It was a game I lived for, the reason I breathed. I smiled to myself.

"I would get to play with this guy!" I thought. With that one happy thought I walked to class. I heard a slight commotion as I was about to turn the corner. It seems as though some of Kazamatsuri-san's friends saw him. I wonder what practice will be like when Mizuno-san and the third years see him. They wouldn't get a chance to do so before. It will be interesting to say the least.

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Notes: I haven't finished the manga yet but I do know about his injury and that it happened during a game. No, I do not know the details of how it occured so I took some license on that.  
Kojima Akira is Kojima Yuki's younger brother whom I made up for the sake of this oneshot. I do not believe she has a younger brother in the manga.

Thank you for reading and I hope you review.

Artemist


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